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Playing Catch

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Everything posted by Playing Catch

  1. Playing Catch
    You put your parenthetical exclamation after the wrong player.
  2. Playing Catch
    I think your logic is sound, but I disagree as the current built-in competitive advantages that the biggest central clubs have over the Milwaukees and Kansas Citys are dwarfed by the advantage that the elite coastal teams have over the Cardinals/Tigers.
  3. Playing Catch
    It's not just the "prospects" either. Teams will randomly run into good players through sheer luck, too. Usually guys that were late bloomers, or had some injury-issues in the minors. Every once in awhile you'll get a good starter or borderline all-star from those types of players, too. I'm not sure they fit the above description or not, but Blake Perkins and Tobias Myers come to mind.
  4. Playing Catch
    They'll agree to it if other teams vote for a lockout and demand it. The big teams still need little teams to play against. I agree that there won't be any kind of NFL-style salary cap, and that the rich teams will remain the richest teams. But I think there will be a little bit more than a baby step toward better competitive balance. I think this will correspond with the league giving a little on years of team control, perhaps restricted free agency?
  5. Playing Catch
    Carolina Mudcats Official Store Or, you can always jump onto the Warbirds gear bandwagon early... Wilson Warbirds Official Store
  6. Playing Catch
    There has been a lot of rumblings around the sport about how the Dodgers are good for baseball. Heck, the Dodgers are good for this site. Over the last calendar year, I'd bet the Dodgers are the subject of more posts than the Cubs. With that said, there's also been a lot of talk, nationally, about competitive imbalance, and the damage that can do long-term, to the sport.
  7. Playing Catch
    I, too, like how Greppi moves. I'm not a scout, but that's always the first thing I pay attention to with a big. Can they run the floor, and are they nimble enough to set good screens, have some moves around the hoop. I was really excited about Gus Yalden for those reasons... alas. That was a huge knee brace Greppi was wearing. In my humble opinion, the Badgers can play with anyone in the country, 1-4. But it's that 5 spot where the elite teams still give the Badgers a lot of trouble. Michigan gave them fits with Wolf, and particularly Goldin. Illinois with Ivisic. UCLA, in a flukey sort of way gave them trouble with Mara having the game of his life. This isn't to denigrate Crowl or Winter. Since league play started, they've been absolutely terrific. But they are still a bit slight (Winter), or athletically limited (Crowl) to keep up with NBA-like 5s. This Maryland game Wednesday should be a great test. East coast road environment, pressure defense with athleticism everywhere, and a really impressive combo at the 4 and 5 with Reese and Queen. I'm probably setting myself up, but I'm really excited, and I'm expecting a win because the Badgers have the coaching advantage. But both teams match up with each other. The Badger bench will need to be huge, as they have been all season.
  8. Playing Catch
    My impression from afar with the Granato-era was that he was kind of running a hockey version of Kentucky basketball, bringing in a bunch of future 1st round picks. They would struggle to gel, and to play against men, and then they would leave for the NHL before developing as a team. Is that accurate? Hastings looks like he's running a proper program again?
  9. Playing Catch
    In the last few years, they've used that deep system to supply their 26-man roster... and the 26-man rosters for 2025, 2026, 2027, and 2028.
  10. Playing Catch
    Maybe take taxed revenue dollars and use them to fund automatic $5M signing bonuses for all free agents? I'm making up the five million arbitrarily, but it would be an easy way to redistribute the wealth to the middle, and lower-income free agents. Although, I suppose, in theory, that is what is already happening when the Brewers sign Hoskins, is that a lot of those dollars come directly from revenue sharing.
  11. Playing Catch
    The Lawrence Butler comp makes a lot of sense.
  12. Playing Catch
    Anyone care to explain the difference between the USCHO rankings and the Pairwise to a novice? Fun game last night, despite the shootout loss.
  13. Playing Catch
    I was really excited about Di Turi. Apparently part of his struggle will be extremely low exit velocities. We know that will be less of a problem for Peña and is a complete non-concern for Made.
  14. Playing Catch
    Thanks @Joseph Zarr and @Spencer Michaelis for your thoughtful responses to all of our questions. It gunna be a fun season!
  15. Playing Catch
    I'm with TURBO. Which MLB hitters in the last 5-10 years have had the weirdest/busiest swings?
  16. Playing Catch
    Just riffing on your agent/player decision-making aspect... I think this whole Sasaki saga is a great lesson in how free agency largely works. Nearly all 30 teams were able to offer about the same type of contract. So which team signed the player? The one the player wanted to sign with. My point is that often times we, as fans, like to blame GMs or owners for not signing players, like the players are heads of lettuce at the grocery store. In free agency, the players decide where to sign. Period. Don't mistake this with my being naive about the importance of the size of the contract. But the point is, is that the Brewers very well may need to offer more than market value in order to sign some players. In some cases, the player has told the agent to ONLY deal with these 10 teams, much like a limited no-trade clause.
  17. Playing Catch
    My sentiments are quite similar to those of the entire thread. Uecker was ours. He was part of our own journeys. He was us. I believe that is one of the reasons I mourn his loss a little differently. I didn't know Uecker. I never met him. I have a hard time mourning the loss of someone I never even met. But I DO mourn, in a nostalgic way, all of those hours and hours spent with loved ones. Sports, and Brewers baseball in particular, will always have happiness and satisfaction wrapped up in it. Even though I listened to what feels like every single game from 1993 to 2005 (zero winning seasons), remembering those moments brings me joy. I mourn growing up and growing older. I mourn days and years that felt simpler for everyone. Times that didn't seem quite so screwed up. Uecker, like many of the older generations, reminds me of happier times. With this acknowledged, I believe Bob would want this thread to be a little more of a celebration of life! Ninety years! What an amazing life journey he had! God bless you, Bob, and may you rest in peace.
  18. Playing Catch
    There's a lot of corner spots in flux in MLB based on rumors. A lot could change before position players report. We've been lulled into thinking the Brewers were done, but...
  19. Playing Catch
    I've noticed a number of teams these days that treat that situation (well, down 1, anyway), like a last shot opportunity and it drives me insane. Blackwell screwed up. That's the only explanation for me. he wasted at least 10 seconds before shooting a horrendous shot. Just failure all around.
  20. Playing Catch
    While this is simply an opinion piece, I believe this is an accurate portrayal of the frustration of mid-market and small-market teams. Competitive balance is something that the majority of teams will want. There has been lots of smoke on this front as well! Just as you are suggesting, the mid-market, and small-market players ALSO want some changes to how revenues are spent. Here are two links (about the same topic), from last April... Scott Boras calls out attempted 'coup' in MLB players union Inside the battle raging in the MLBPA -- and what's next - ESPN I think there's a universe where the next CBA is more peaceable than we expect, with 2nd division teams and 2nd division players teaming up to better share the wealth. This would be good for fans.
  21. Playing Catch
    There were plenty of talking points from last night's game, and even though the officiating wasn't the worst home-coooking I've seen, that stretch of play from about the 10-minute mark to about the 5-minute mark featured several frustrating calls/non-calls all going UCLA's way. The Badgers were called for about 4 pushing fouls on defensive rebounds, and UCLA was not called for a lot of physical play on the other end. This corresponded with UCLA switching the score right before free throws were to determine the game. Cronin knew it at about the 7-minute mark with a 7+ point lead, and he started bleeding clock. Badgers were able to make a run, but alas... After the game, Cronin thought the officiating was fair, which tells you all you need to know.
  22. Playing Catch
    Firstly, thank you for using a thread dedicated to this type of discussion rather than the Miscellaneous thread, or something. Secondly, I like the concept. I think something like this would make fans feel a little better about the current situation. I think there would be a lot of ways the league could go about this, too, beyond your clear-headed, feasible idea. If the league really wanted to get wild, how about some kind of expansion-draft style for the non-playoff participants. The ten worst teams could have a draft of prospects from the playoff teams' farm systems (some prospects would be protected, of course).
  23. Playing Catch
    Not picking on you, or anyone else that doesn't read the Minor League forum, but if you are (rightfully) excited about Bitoni, just wait until you hear about the rest of the farm.
  24. Playing Catch
    Firstly, I'm not sure how Forbes gets its data. I don't believe the public is privy to revenue totals. Secondly, having revenue numbers without cost numbers, waters down the intended effect. I already posted in the Brewers Payroll thread, but clearly this was the better spot to mention that having NFL-style parity is not at all interesting to me. I like having SOME disparity between the Evil Empire(s) and the underdogs. That is the root of all the drama! But make no mistake, the current competitive imbalance is unsustainable. Hypothetically, the Brewers beating the Mariners in the World Series doesn't compare with the Brewers beating the Yankees.
  25. Playing Catch
    I think this is the crux of our collective opinions on competitive balance. I don't think ANYONE argues that the system is as fair as a 50/50 coin flip. I think everyone acknowledges that in the next 100 years, the Yankees and Dodgers will have a lot more World Series opportunities than the Brewers. I think the question is like that offered by MLB Trade Rumors last night. Do we fans WANT baseball to be as balanced competitively as the NFL? Do we WANT a hard salary cap? I've mentioned it before, but I like that baseball has the Yankees and, (now), the Dodgers. My problem is that the competitive imbalance is so far out of whack that we, of small-market fandom, have to parse out the statistical odds to openly justify our belief or non-belief that the Brewers can win a World Series in our lifetime. I don't know what it will look like, but I believe baseball will continue to increase revenue sharing, as well as implement a soft spending floor (so any shared revenue not spent on payroll goes back to the players somehow), in order for the current competitive imbalance to be more balanced --- if not perfectly balanced.
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